Help with recording a podcast over Skype

Hi folks,

 

I've offered to help improve the sound quality of a football (soccer) podcast but very quickly realised I haven't got a clue how. You can listen to it here: http://espurs.blogspot.co.uk/

 

At the moment they record their podcast over Skype, which they use because the various contributors are spread over two continents.

 

The sound quality is poor, at best, and unintelligible, at worst.

 

They currently use the built-in microphones in their computers and, unfortunately, have no money for gear. I'm hoping that, if there is a bit of kit or software that will transform their podcast, I can convince them to find a way of buying it.

 

My initial thought was to suggest they get decent microphones but I'm not sure that they will see much benefit if Skype is the limiting factor.

 

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Bump.

You could give SoundFlower a try.

 

It should work, and it's free so you have nothing to lose.

If they want to continue to use Skype for this, they'll have to wait until Skype TX is released next year. It will require proprietary hardware, apparently:

 

http://blogs.skype.com/2014/04/07/skype-delivers-a-new-solution-for-broadcasters/

 

J.

Thank you guys. I'll look into both potential solutions.

Cheers.

I have recorded several Skype coversations with 'Screenflow'. OK, it's a screen capture app that records whatever happens on your screen of course, but it also records the sound too. When you have finished recording, it creates two 'layers'; one for the video and another for the audio. You can then export the audio to wherever you want. Sound quality is pretty good too!

Thanks, reflectingme. I'll give it a try. Most appreciated.

You're very welcome, sir.

Nope.

No software will help you a tenth of what a decent microphone would, even the cheapest ones out there.

 

Get them to spend 50 pounds each on a micrphone. No, it won't be the best microphone in the world, or even something that would get remotely close to any sort of standard - but it'll be a lot better.

 

Go for the Samson CO1U or Blue Snowball. They're both usb, they're not amazing microphones by any stretch of the imagination, but they're a better starting point!

After acquiring those, you can start processing audio, improve acoustics with diy tricks and most importantly - record audio individually… It's all free, but there's no point in doing any of that unless they're actually using microphones.

 

We use a Mumble server (5 bucks a month) for communication, then record individually. Get the microphones, pm me and I'll tell you all about it.

Nope.

No software will help you a tenth of what a decent microphone would, even the cheapest ones out there.

 

Hi kraze, I'm interested to know your solution and will PM you.

 

There appears to be a real difference of opinion regarding the way forward. The problem for me in advising them is that they have said they have NO money. I'm guessing that they're young lads just starting out and the reason I want to help them is that their podcast is very promising. Anyhoo, thanks to everyone for their input.

I understood they have to do it over Skype. If that's the case, it won't matter what mic they use, the audio will be "Skype quality".

 

J.

This is exactly why I'm asking, Jordi. I just didn't know if there was a better way. I'm going to get the podcasters to try Soundflower & Screenflow, as suggested and also free solutions, to find out if there's an improvement. Are you saying there won't be?

This is exactly why I'm asking, Jordi. I just didn't know if there was a better way. I'm going to get the podcasters to try Soundflower & Screenflow, as suggested and also free solutions, to find out if there's an improvement. Are you saying there won't be?

Nev17 - do you have Skype? If so, I am more than willing to give this a try. We could have a short Skype convo, I will record it via Screenflow and extract the audio for you into logic Pro 9 - then post on soundcloud for you to have a listen to?

 

Let me know if this might help, I have some time and am more than happy to help.

Thanks for your offer, reflectingme. Unfortunately, Skype won't work where I am. I live in the sticks and my internet connection is rubbish. I've tried using Skype many times and the connection breaks after only a few seconds, if I get a connection at all. It took around a week to download LP9!

 

I'll PM you with a couple of questions, if that's ok.

 

I appreciate the time you've taken over this,

Thanks for your offer, reflectingme. Unfortunately, Skype won't work where I am. I live in the sticks and my internet connection is rubbish. I've tried using Skype many times and the connection breaks after only a few seconds, if I get a connection at all. It took around a week to download LP9!

 

I'll PM you with a couple of questions, if that's ok.

 

I appreciate the time you've taken over this,

 

No probs... I have replied...

I understood they have to do it over Skype. If that's the case, it won't matter what mic they use, the audio will be "Skype quality".

 

J.

 

I've dealt with this in pm, but I'll adress it here as well!

 

That's not an issue. You should be recording locally and sync in post.

Don't use Skype, use Mumble. It's cross-platform and you can rent a server for a few bucks a month (I recommend http://www.gameservers.com/mumble_murmur/).

 

You can either be lazy and simply record the whole conversation as it is - or you can actually make minimal effort, be respectful to your listeners and record individually to sync in post. If you're on Mac and on a budget, I'd recommend Piezo.

 

That way, the audio won't be degraded in any way and the conversation will be as smooth as possible since you're avoiding artifacts and connection errors.

Thanks, kraze. I shall advise accordingly.

 

And thanks to both kraze & reflectingme for their PM's detailing the processes. Much appreciated.

 

I'll update this post if & when the podcasters put the suggestions into operation.

 

Cheers.

I'd like to conclude this post by suggesting that, if one wants the podcast to sound professional, follow kraze's solution. And it's brilliantly simple.

 

Thanks also to reflectingme who went to a lot of trouble to help the podcasters.

Sorry, I just skimmed this thread, but it might be worth mentioning that these six women from all over the globe do a popular Dr. Who podcast using Skype: http://veritypodcast.wordpress.com As I understand it, they use USB mics that cost about US$70.

 

..........................................................................................................

Laptop run on Yosemite beta; current versions of Logic & Final Cut

Four central processing units, 16 gigabytes of memory, 512 gigabytes of flash storage

Schoeps microphones | Sound Devices recorder & interface | Kawai MIDI controller | VI Labs Beckstein

I had a listen, rorick, and it's really quite good. By far the best Skype-based broadcast I've heard. Personally, I wouldn't consider it professional-sounding, though. There's a fair amount of distortion. In this case, the limiting factor is probably Skype and not the mics.

 

With kraze's solution, it's possible to get a significantly better sounding podcast whilst completely removing Skype, or any other VoIP, as a limiting factor.

 

If you get a chance, have a listen to the podcast I've linked in my first post and you'll hear why I embarked on this quest.

If you get a chance, have a listen to the podcast I've linked in my first post and you'll hear why I embarked on this quest.

 

Hi,

 

I listened to parts of the most recent podcast (number 17, uploaded 1 June).

 

There are more basic problems than sound quality. I listened on headphones, and the difference in sound level between the host and the other participants, and for that matter between the other participants, is significant and irritating. The change in level from the host to his first participant was so great that I instinctively grabbed the volume dial on my interface to lower the sound. I can't imagine listening to all 66 minutes with that kind of issue going on.

 

If I recall, I came across the Dr. Who podcast while doing some follow-up research after reading a piece on the BBC College of Production site. I'm not involved in the podcast and I don't follow it. But to me, it is of higher quality than the e-Spurs podcast on just about any measure, including overall sound quality.

 

If the e-Spurs guys are still using Skype and haven't yet moved to Mumble, I'd be interested in hearing the results when they make the change. If they're already using Mumble, I think that they have some work to do.

 

P.S. In an early April podcast, the sound of the host came out of the left headphone and the sound of the other participants came out of the right. If you had something to do with fixing this, you've already given them a big helping hand

Hi rorick,

 

I absolutely agree. The Dr Who podcast is in a different league, sound quality-wise, to the e-Spurs podcast. Originally, I wasn't sure whether the problems were due to just Skype or with Skype + mic quality etc.

 

Unfortunately, I have no idea whether they've listened to any of the advice they were given as they haven't had the courtesy to acknowledge receipt of said advice. Considering that they solicited help in the first place, I do feel a little let down. reflectingme was in contact with them directly, at my behest, and agreed to make himself available to receive a call. They didn't bother to make the call and left him waiting. Not good. To be honest, I haven't listened to any of their podcasts since. It'd just annoy me.

 

I left the update in case anyone else requires a solution in the future.

 

Cheers

Hi all! I'm the tech producer for the Doctor Who podcast in question (Verity!), and I thought I'd pop in to clarify.

 

We do use Skype to talk to each other, but we don't use the Skype audio for the podcast. I capture it and save it as a backup for emergencies, but we all record our own audio tracks, share them via Dropbox, and I sync them later. (Though full disclosure, I don't use LP for it.) Occasionally I have to weave in someone's audio from the Skype track (which is a pain and a half), but only in extreme circumstances. The audio from each person isn't always great (it's hard to find a quiet place in a small downtown apartment), but it's as good as we can get it without spending lots of money on soundproofing and such!

 

If you want in-depth info, I went into more detail in this MacWorld article, which has some great info from other podcasters as well (including one podcaster who does use Logic Pro X): http://www.macworld.com/article/2138120/how-to-get-started-in-podcasting.html

 

Hope that's helpful if the e-Spur folks do decide to try to clean things up.

 

Cheers!

 

-E

Hi, E.

 

Thanks for taking the time to join in this discussion. Even though the intended recipients aren't going to benefit from this, the technical side of podcasting is a new and interesting area for me so I appreciate being educated by those with experience.

 

Cheers.

Hi all! I'm the tech producer for the Doctor Who podcast in question (Verity!), and I thought I'd pop in to clarify.

 

We do use Skype to talk to each other, but we don't use the Skype audio for the podcast. I capture it and save it as a backup for emergencies, but we all record our own audio tracks, share them via Dropbox, and I sync them later. (Though full disclosure, I don't use LP for it.) Occasionally I have to weave in someone's audio from the Skype track (which is a pain and a half), but only in extreme circumstances. The audio from each person isn't always great (it's hard to find a quiet place in a small downtown apartment), but it's as good as we can get it without spending lots of money on soundproofing and such!

 

If you want in-depth info, I went into more detail in this MacWorld article, which has some great info from other podcasters as well (including one podcaster who does use Logic Pro X): http://www.macworld.com/article/2138120/how-to-get-started-in-podcasting.html

 

Hope that's helpful if the e-Spur folks do decide to try to clean things up.

 

Cheers!

 

-E

 

Hi Erika,

 

Very cool, and appreciated, that you contributed to this discussion.

 

Does this mean that the original discussion takes place on Skype, and then the participants record what they said on Skype at higher quality and upload that recording to you on Dropbox? Or, given that there aren't normally six of you participating, are you using normal telephone lines with Skype as backup? Or is there something else going on?

 

Cheers